Buying wood. Picture please look.

That looks like it is going to stack out a lot less than a half a cord.

I would guess each bag is probably 1/3 of a cord. I would say the only way to know is to buy and then stack it out. Are they cut to the right length for your stove. It looks like a convenitent delivery method but i would want it in stacks not in bags, no airflow there. I had a loose thrown pile that had NO drying in the middle last year. My pile was 4 ft high and about 8 ft wide. First two layers were ok but below that it was wet and moldy............ i think you might have that heppen with these sacks.

Definitely a strange way to sell wood. I have never seen bags like that before. I would be concerned they hold rainwater or at the very least moisture. The only side that really needs to be covered (the top) is exposed. I think a smarter approach would be to stack the wood and put the bag on inverted. As this method wasn't chosen, I would think that is because the wood is not actually stacked, rather heaped into the bag. Also I would have to do a walk around, but as others have said I would find it hard to believe that is 1/2 cord. Just out of curiosity are you leaning towards this dealer because the bags are priced good?

Niko said:

I found him on my local craigslist in Ny under hudson valley if anyone want to look it up.. Seems like a good guy but then again everyone does from afar.

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I would explain the volume concern and offer $100 for the two bags. That would probably be $150 per cord that way. Plus it's craigslist, it was made for haggling.

Jags said:

Take one bag and stack it out (even if it is on his lot). Bring your tape measure and measure the volume. Now you know.

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If you do this take a moisture meter with you and make a fresh split to measure, I would be flabbergasted if it was actually as low as 15%.

A standard pallet is 40" x 48". If those bags are on standard pallets they are far less then 4' square and 4.5 high. Probably more like 3x3 bags bulged out a bit. I bet they are at most 1/4 cord and wouldn't be surprised if that was on the high side, it could take 5 of those bags to make an honest cord.

Niko said:

Gonna look up now how to tell the difference between wood species.

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GOOD LUCK

Have you tried contacting a log company yet (if they exist there)? Around here I can get a truckload of pine/fir/tam for $1000 ($1300 delivered) and there's about 12-13 cords on it.

Buy one and open it up I want to look>

The State of Maine's law puts a loose-thrown cord at 180 cubic feet for splits 12-16" long. So, if the bags were actually 4x4x4.5 feet, magically retained their rectangular shape and were completely full, Maine law would call them 0.4-cord bags.

There's no way I'd store the wood in those bags long-term unless it was in a barn, and then only if I knew the wood to already be very dry.

My concerns are the same as everyone elses; not as much wood as he's promising, and not as dry either.

The moisture meter technique seems a little sloppy in the picture (the end of a cut, not a fresh split and cross grain), so 13% is doubtable. Some wood dealers seem to be the "know it all" types and rather than trying to educate them on moisture meters, proper stacking and cubic feet it may be worth it just to find a different guy. Just my 2 cents.

bobdog2o02 said:

Plus it's craigslist, it was made for haggling

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But as others have said it's the nature of craigslist...haggle away.

Tommytman said:

The moisture meter technique seems a little sloppy in the picture ...

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It's not a little sloppy, it's totally wrong and pretty much meaningless.

Jon1270 said:

It's not a little sloppy, it's totally wrong and pretty much meaningless.

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lol I have no personal experience with a MM so I was trying not to be too bold with my statement ...yet still point out a possible flaw. I was hoping someone more knowledgeable would pounce on it so thank you!!

For fun I just went and stuck my meter in the end grain of a cherry split from a tree I bucked a few weeks ago. It's been stacked in a breezy area and top-covered but only gets a couple of hours of direct sun a day. The end of the split measures at 9%, even though the interior would be so wet that it would exceed the meter's functional limits.

To be fair, it's normal for even ready-to-burn firewood to be wetter on the inside than on the outside. A split that averages 20% throughout will almost always be higher than 20% inside and lower than 20% on the outside. 20% is the target MC recommended by the EPA, but around here standards are generally higher. Most people here will tell you that you want the wood to be 20% or lower throughout.

Also, you've got a whole summer ahead of you so even if the wood is at 30-40% inside it may be in good shape by the time Halloween rolls around. I don't know what firewood costs in your area. It may be a good deal despite the misleading sales pitch.